Rare Congressional Coalition Draws A Bead On Midgetman

June 20, 1989|By Thom Shanker, Chicago Tribune.

``We are in a period of ferment,`` Aspin wrote in a memorandum to members of the House Armed Services Committee, which he chairs. ``We`re waiting to see if (Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev`s) initiatives really pan out . . . In essence, this is an interim budget.``

An Air Force officer assigned to the Midgetman program, which has received $3.5 billion over seven years, said the $100 million in Bush`s 1990 budget ``will pay for overhead and a few components. It doesn`t buy us advancements in the program. It is a keep-alive profile only.``

The most likely plan for basing a Midgetman system would park two trucks per bunker atop existing Minuteman silos here. At the president`s command, they would scatter along highways or across the plains, calibrating their locations from internal compasses and by stopping at pre-surveyed posts.

After rolling along at highway speeds, the drivers would plow a small berm for the hardened, aerodynamic launch trailer. The tractor would then unhitch and drive off, leaving the missile ready for launch by officers at a distant, buried console or in an airborne command post.